Huskies wrap: Aiyewa looking to lock up third linebacker spot

When Cort Dennison emerged as the third linebacker for the Huskies last season, it gave the team a formidable trio of linebackers with Donald Butler and Mason Foster leading the way.

Now with Butler in the NFL, UW is looking for another surprise third linebacker to emerge to play alongside Foster and Dennison.

UW linebacker Victor Aiyewa (41), shown here making a tackle last year against LSU, is looking to land a starting spot at a new position. (Getty Images/Otto Greule Jr)

That player may be a guy who saw plenty of action last year, albeit at a different position.

Victor Aiyewa, the former safety, was converted to linebacker during the offseason and is looking to lock up the third linebacking spot by having a strong fall. The senior has put on about 12 pounds since the end of 2009 and has been seeing most of the reps with the first-string defense during the first four days of pratice.

The Huskies coaching staff insists the position is up-for-grabs and the comeptition includes a number of players who have been with the program for a number of years, like seniors Matt Houston and Brandon Huppert, as well as some incoming freshman.

“It’s still a good competition,” said linebackers coach Mike Cox. “Victor Aiyewa’s done a nice job. We haven’t even put on full pads yet and we still need to play the run and be physical. Until we see that, we’re not going to make a concrete decision.”

Aiyewa’s biggest obstacle is the fact that he is not familiar with the position, having spent his entire UW career playing in the secondary. But, after just a few days at the position during the fall, Aiyewa, who is coming off shoulder surgery, seems excited about the switch.

“I’m actually feeling a lot more comfortable then I did at safety,” Aiyewa said.

Aiyewa is still clearly struggling with some of the growing pains that come with a position switch, such as learning to react to the plays from a different position on the field.

“The number one difference is just learning the plays from a different perspecticve,” Aiyewa said. “A lot of the stuff I know, obviously, from safety, but when you get a little bit closer to the ball, everything happens a lot faster.”

Head coach Steve Sarkisian was not ready to tab Aiyewa as the frontrunner for the third linebacking spot, but said he has been impressed with some of the things he has seen from Aiyewa.

“I’ve been impressed that he’s physical,” Sarkisian said. “You’re always concerned when you take a safety and move him to a linbacker spot. Physically, he looks the part, mentally he understood the position. Coming off a shoulder surgery, moving down from safety, I was concerned about if he was going to be physical enough, but he’s shown so far that he can do that.”

There’s a long way to go until the coaching staff is likely to name a starter for the third linebacking spot, but, if Aiyewa continues to progress, the Huskies could once again have a formidable trio at the position.